Both Sehun and Kai knelt down, their undivided attention fully on the eggs, his heart hammering against his chest. Kai had moved the eggs to the bed with gentle care as not to disturb the hatching process. Then Sehun spied a crack in the largest egg, the silver one. It was a small crack, but as he watched it lengthened, spreading across the shell, splintering into many more cracks. "The sliver egg,” Sehun gasped. He scrambled forward, almost falling on his face in his haste to get to closer, he sat on the bed, and Kai joined him. “Look! Look!” The silver egg rocked several times. A tiny piece of shell broke from the side and tumbled to the padding beneath. Sehun gasped and ran his hand over the egg. All three cords of the egg bond were awash with excitement. Their hatchlings were ready to emerge. Something within the egg pushed outward; it took several tries before the hatchling within was able to push free a piece of shell. It’s tiny blue eyes blinked at them from inside the egg. Oh Gods they have my eyes. Sehun sent through their bond. That's right. Kai sent back . "Can’t we help them?” Excitement coursing, Sehun reached for the egg, but Kai stopped him.  “No, not unless they’re in distress. Breaking free of the shell is part of the birthing process. It helps make strong hatchlings.” He smiled. “After days of laying around doing nothing, a little hard work will be good for them.” He pointed at the nest. “Oh, look! That black one is starting to crack!” “Come out, babies,” Sehun whispered. His voice trembled in the same way the egg bond did—strung so tight that it sang with excitement. “I want to meet you. Both of us want to meet you. We’re so, so, so excited.” The silver egg trembled again a few times in rapid succession, then stilled. Another chip fell off the silver egg. Sehun them all, watching with wide-eyed wonder. “Kai,” Sehun enthused. "We're going to be fathers! Baby dragons! Can you believe it?” “No.” Kai sounded as though he was about to cry. Sehun worked a hand in comforting circles on the small of his back, sending him reassurance through their newly completed bond. Kai in return planted a kiss on the side of Sehun's head. They watched the eggs tremble and jerk as their hatchling pecked away at the shells with their egg teeth and claws. A foot extended from one. Soon enough, they’d have three baby dragons to care for—their children. Nothing good ever comes quickly, and the hatchlings were no different. They took their time breaking free of their shells, several minutes in fact that felt like a lifetime, but soon enough the second foot wiggled. The egg fractured. A silver hatchling tumbled out, looked up at Sehun, and padded its way across the nest to rub against Sehun's thigh. Sehun started to cry, and Kai held him as closely as he dared without interrupting the bonding process. "Our daughter." Kai mumbled. The egg bond would fade over time, while this new, parent-child bond would grow to eventually supersede it, then replace it entirely. It was critical, right after hatching, for the baby to bond with his parent. Or in this case, parents. Their attention attention was refocused when the silver dragon wobble toward Kai. Kai in a breath and reached out a trembling hand, and the baby dragon pushed against his fingers and purred. Sehun's heart skipped a beat, and for the moment, nothing else existed beyond the narrow scope of their hoard. The tiny creature on the bed was something he’d created with Kai—a piece of both of them that would live and grow and learn.  Before Sehun could properly compartmentalize his feelings about seeing his own young tumble forth from an egg, the darkest egg broke into jagged pieces and a much larger hatchling climbed from the debris and scampered up Sehun's leg to push his head against Sehun's stomach. There were tears in Sehun's eyes as he his newest hatchling’s head with his fingers, and the hatchling purred in response. "This one is bigger. How come? "Sehun said, the silver egg was the largest however the hatching was smaller than the black one. "It happens." Kai told him. "Mostly because he's a male, while the silver is a female." Sehun's attention turned to the last egg— the magenta. The egg shook and trembled, but for a long while, nothing else happened. The hatchlings curled up on Sehun's lap and fell asleep while Kai their last remaining egg. Sehun gave the final egg, the smallest, a gentle poke. “Baby? Can you hear your Hayrik? It’s time to come out. You can do it. Come out, sweet little one.” He turned to Kai with tears in his eyes. "Yixing said they were all viable, but this one isn’t even cracking the shell. What if something’s wrong? I couldn’t bear it if...if…” “Shh. Nothing will happen. Let’s give it a little time. If the baby doesn’t start hatching on it’s own, we’ll give it a little help.” Kai patted Sehun on the shoulder, and wiped away his tears. "For now, I think these two need to eat.” Kai cocked his head.  “How do we feed them? I mean, do i.. is there…” Sehun touched a finger to one of his own s. "I don't produce any milk." Shaking his head, Sehun reached for Kai's s. "Maybe the milk will come from you?" Kai gave a half-hearted snort and slapped Sehun's hand away. “Do they look like udders to you? Dragonettes eat the same food we do, it just has to be softer and easier to chew for their baby teeth.” "Oh!" Sehun let out. "I need to hunt something for them real quick." Kai said, already rising to his feet.  "Do you have to go?" "I will be back before you know it." Sehun reluctantly agreed and watched as Kai rushed out. He looked at the magenta egg without blinking, like doing so would help it break free, while continued to stoke the two whelps curled up on his lap. Kai didn't take long to return with a deer slung on his shoulder. “How is our little pink one doing?” Sehun shook his head. “Nothing yet. It even stopped rattling. I’m really worried now, Kai.” "Come help me here." Kai said, tearing a hunk with his claws. “Cut that hunk of meat into small pieces. I will take your place and watch over the egg." "We're not going to cook it?" "No, it's best to feed them raw meat for a couple of weeks. Though we dragons like our meat raw, but we'll have to change their diet in the future." Sehun placed the hatchlings on the blanket, before rising, which caused the babies to wake from their short slumber. He busied himself doing as Kai ordered, cutting the meat into tiny pieces. He brought a wooden plate piled high with meat to the nest.  “They won’t eat all that! They’re just babies, Sehun.” Kai laughed.  “I don’t want them to go hungry.” “You’re going to make a wonderful father, but if you have your way, your children may grow too heavy to fly.”Kai took a handful of the meat. “This is plenty. Wrap the rest up for later.” Sehun offered him a slanted smile, and did as Kai asked. Once the meat was put up for the Whelps next meal, he returned to the nest. "Do you think it's not mature enough to hatch?" "No, since the others hatched this one should be able to." Kai said."Its time for us to intervene.” he slid a knife from his hip sheath. Holding the egg in one hand, he tapped the shell with the point of the knife until a minute crack appeared. He kept tapping until the crack spiderweb. Then he set the egg back in the nest.
 
He and Sehun bent low, watching the egg closely. “Come on, little one. Come meet your siblings and your parents.” A tiny claw poked out from the crack, widening it a bit. From within the egg, a pinkish blue eye blinked at them.  “That’s it, love! You can do it!” Sehun leaned low and made eye contact with the wee dragon. “You're a strong one, I can feel it! Push, little one!” They could hear the dragon mewl as it pushed against the shell. Finally, a tiny piece of shell was displaced. Kai helped remove it, giving the baby a little more air. A sensation vibrated through their bond—thrilled happiness, like Kai's heart was on a roller coaster. Sehun leaned over and pressed a kiss to Kai's cheek. He reached a hand to their hatchlings and ran his fingers over their tiny scales, still so small and soft. One day, they would grow into fearsome creatures. He’d cherish their tender days while he still had them. A few more frantic wiggles saw the egg crack some more. A tiny magenta foot broke through the egg. The baby dragon rested for a moment or two before trying to break free again. It took several more attempts before a hole was made large enough for the baby to poke it’s head through. For all the Kai said the babies had to hatch on their own, he couldn’t stand it one more moment. He crooked a finger into the egg and broke it apart, freeing their final hatchling. The magenta dragon stood on uncertain legs, wobbling, head bobbing with the effort. Then, finding its footing, it toddled over to Sehun. It was the smallest of the tree. So beautiful and adorable. "I've met you a few times in my dreams."Sehun held his baby, kissing his head. "You did well my baby." He passed the dragon over to Kai, and watched them bond before Kai let baby to the pile of meat where its siblings were already feasting. The two dragons paused to gaze at their clutchmate, then the female picked up a piece of meat and offered it to her brother. The magenta dragon blinked a couple of times, before reaching to take the meat. Satisfied, the female went back to her food, pushing the black dragon away to make room for the smallest. Sehun couldn't help but laugh. "She's very protective of her brother." "Yeah, no one will dare to bully him with her by his side." Kai said.“The female is Aurora, the largest male Jae'in, and magenta is Dae'in,” he murmured, working his way from the silver of the hatchlings to the magenta. He spoke with such pride that a shiver worked its way down Sehun's spine and rose the tiny hairs down his arms. To hear his mate speak so enthusiastically about their young had him falling in love with Kai all over again. “And they’re perfect, and they’re ours.” “Ours,” Sehun confirmed. Sunlight streamed in through the opening in the hoard. It lit their backs and warmed their skin. Sehun kissed Kai, his soul alight with love and happiness, and Kai kissed him back sweetly. Three new lives had joined theirs—their world would never be the same again, and yet, Sehun didn’t care. What he’d found was better than the uninspiring life he’d been leading until that point. He was a lover, a mate, and a father—a protector to the ones who needed him the most. Sehun would keep his tiny family safe, and he would love them endlessly, perfect and imperfect and all. Their happy time was interrupted when a howl echoed in the cave. Hastily, Sehun went to gather the whelps, but Kai shook his head. "It's nothing. Just Namjoon telling me I am needed urgently." "Urgent?" He blinked, hands hovering over the whelps. "Yeah" Kai said just as another howl was heard. "We should go, hear what this is about." "You understand what the wolf was saying?" Kai nodded. "We got visitors." "Oh" Sehun mumbled wondering who those visitors could possibly be." Before we leave I have something to give you." Kai raised his brows but nodded. With a smile, Sehun went to where his discarded clothes were and pulled out his blade, turning it around a few times while he let out a breath before returning to his mate. "Here." He extended the blade. "For?" Kai asked, but he accepted the blade. "Mating gift." Sehun said. "It's in our custom for newly married couples to exchange gifts. And this is the only thing I think you're worthy of." Kai's eyes went wide. "This is your teleporting blade." "That's right. It's been in my family for generations. Passed down to the heir of Lyfe throne. Originally Sadok crafted it as a gift to his mate. But he later decided it wasn't good enough for a God, and let their son keep it." Kai shook his head,"Sehun if it's that important I shouldn't take it from–" "No I want you to have it. Kai." Sehun told him. "You're my mate, the father of my whelps." His eyes darted to said kids, that were gazing up them with curious eyes, like they were trying to understand what their parents were saying. "You're sure?" Kai said, eyes flickering between the blade and Sehun. "Yup. It's yours now. Take care of it Kai, just like you'll take care of my heart." Kai's face lit up, "Thank you Sehun. I promise to cherish it for the rest of my days." "Yes, the rest our days, now you'll live for as long as I do." Kai opened his mouth to speak. Already seeing through his mate, Sehun shook his head. "Don't." He moved closer, leaning to drop a kiss to Kai's lips. "We'll be together for a very long time Drake." Kai smiled against his lips. "I believe you."
**** After much debate, they finally decided to leave the new hatchlings in Kai's hoard, but of course not before several protection barriers were put around them. The whelps would send an emergency alert through their connection with both parents if something happened. Kai had said it was better for them to be in a familiar environment, to get use to the fact the they're out of their shells. Watching his babes looking at him with cute expression, Sehun was truly unwilling to leave them.  But they had to, Namjoon had sent Kai a message. He wouldn't have asked them to come if it wasn't important. Sehun had thought he would start bleeding the moment he was far enough. But all he felt was a tug, that according Kai was due him unwilling to path with his whelps. He still couldn't believe he had become a father. He hadn't been ready, but now that they were here, Sehun was happy to finally meet them. They weren't sure when the tiny dragons would take human or elfin shape, since nothing seem to be going the ordinary way with them. He just hoped they would give him time to prepare this time. Hopefully when nothing would be a threat to them. When the world was a better place for them to live in, when Sehun wouldn't be a pirate, when Heechul was no longer alive.  He jolted back to reality when Kai beat his wings, slowing his descend, ready to land. Instead of the location they took off from, this time Kai brought them to the large castle c